BUILDING A Resume
As a student, a resume is a list of activities that you've been involved in and much more. It is your way of telling the reader who you are as a person beyond your academic record: what motivates you; what your interests are; how involved you are; what initiative you have taken. It's important to choose your words carefully to make the biggest impression.
Not all resumes will be used in a traditional sense. You'll need a resume for several reasons:
Recommendation letters: your Naviance resume is used by teachers and counselors to write these
College applications: these activities will be listed on many applications
Scholarship applications: a formal resume may be required
This is your time to shine! Here's how to do it.
When activities are listed on your college applications, you'll have limited character count for each activity: Common App = 150 characters / UC app = 350 characters, which means you'll need two different versions of each activity if you be using both applications -- put the different versions on Google Doc, then transfer them to your resume when the wording is finalized. Don't focus on character count from the beginning. Complete all the steps below first so that you get your thoughts down without limitations. It's only at the end that you should trim down the word count. This is where a thesaurus really comes in handy. Note: The Common Application asks you to list 10 activities/5 awards; the UC Application asks for 20 activities/awards. List as many as possible.
Develop a list of activities you've been involved in during high school. This could be volunteering, a job, community service, research, job shadowing, summer programs, college classes, music/dance lessons, awards you've won, competitions you've entered, etc.
What was the activity? Do not assume the reader knows the name of the organization/event and what it does. Provide only enough context to put it into perspective: the largest animal shelter in the Bay Area; a fundraiser for the homeless in my county; an award given to only 3 of 1,000 nominated people.
What was your role? Were you a member, volunteer, leader, founder, etc? How were you involved and exactly what did you do: developed an after-school program at the local elementary school; sorted clothes for distribution; created a campaign to raise money for xx. If your role or that activity grew over time (eg: member to leader; one chapter to six chapters), then show that evolution. The reader likes to see a willingness to take on increased responsibility.
What impact did this activity have on both you and others? Think of descriptive words that demonstrate that impact: developed a device to assist wheelchair users when shopping; swayed the council to change their vote; learned that I was capable of leading; I was enlightened by another perspective and changed my mind. Think of problems solved by your involvement in this activity, lessons learned from it and how you later applied what you learned.
Quantify the results if appropriate: ex: organized an event to collect 400 bags of groceries to feed 250 people; by washing cars raised $5,000 to buy supplies for 6 underserved schools.
Use a thesaurus throughout your resume to find the best words and not repeat them. Consider this list of impactful verbs from the College Essay Guy.
Read what you've written, and even have others read it, to make sure the character traits that you want expressed about yourself are actually coming through.
Review again to remove any irrelevant information, which may gain you some character count.
Now that each activity has been described, place them in order from most to least impactful. Your resume should impress the reader from the start and grab their attention to continue reading.
See additional advice from the College Essay Guy for UC Activities and Common App Activities.
See advice for entering the awards/honors section on the Common App.
See advice for using the Additional Information section on the Common App.
For a formal and complete resume beyond your activities, you may need different versions of it depending on what it's used for. If so, complete an Objectives section tailored for that specific purpose. This should describe why you are seeking what you are. For example:
for a scholarship - describe why the scholarship is important to you and why you're a good candidate
for an internship - state your career goals, how this internship will lead you there, and why you're a good candidate
Building a Resume in Naviance
Log into Naviance, click the arrow by your profile pic and select Resume. Click the + button to add an activity. This resume will be used by your Counselor and Teacher for your Letter of Recommendation. You can print or save your resume when it is complete so that you can add to it when in college. Naviance may time out, so save your work every few minutes, or work in a Google Doc then paste it into Naviance.
Resume Templates -- These are typically used for scholarships, internships, jobs, etc.
click an image to make a copy and modify
